School Of Medicine Basic Sciences

New research by Andrea Page-McCaw shows that a membrane that wraps around most animal tissues can heal within 24 hours, but does leave a scar. Read More

David Cortez and colleagues have found that a protein called RADX helps modulate a protein called RAD51 in order to make sure exactly the correct amount of DNA repair occurs. Read More

The process, discovered in the axons of neurons, is implicated in Alzheimer’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, traumatic brain injury and other diseases or injuries to the nervous system. Read More

In new research, Hassane Mchaourab and colleagues have uncovered new insights into drug resistance that could lead to the development of new anti-cancer and antibacterial drugs. Read More

Chronic inflammation is a predisposing condition for colorectal cancer, the third leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States. Anna Means, Ph.D., and colleagues have now linked inflammation-driven carcinogenesis in the colon to loss of an important signaling protein called SMAD4. Read More

Lipid molecules that bind to HDL can modify its function — and blocking that modification can protect HDL and potentially lower the risk of atherosclerosis and heart disease. Read More

Vanderbilt University’s Dan Roden, MD, internationally known for his contributions to understanding how genetic variation affects drug response, has been named a recipient of the 2018 Louis and Artur Lucian Award for Research in Circulatory Diseases by McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Read More

Vanderbilt researchers describe how certain tuberculosis treatments work and suggest these medications may overcome the threat of drug-resistant tuberculosis. Read More

Vanderbilt scientists have discovered that a certain enzyme plays a crucial role in preventing obesity-related cardiac dysfunction. Read More

Using techniques to control and monitor the activities of individual neurons, Vanderbilt investigators are probing the brain’s reward circuitry. Read More

Vanderbilt scientists have developed a new process that can rapidly and inexpensively identify personalized cancer drugs derived from nature. Read More

The bacterium H. pylori is a leading cause of stomach cancer, and Vanderbilt researchers are studying how one of its toxins gets into cells. Read More

Treatments for common skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis may be improved by understanding the enzymes responsible for forming the skin’s water-tight barrier. Read More

A Vanderbilt team and their international colleagues characterized for the first time a complex, little-understood cellular receptor type that, when activated, shuts off hunger. Read More

Vanderbilt investigators have discovered that cancer treatment induces an “idling” state for cells, which could promote resistance to treatment. Read More

Structural views of the proteins that regulate the heartbeat may help improve existing treatments for cardiac arrhythmias. Read More

An improved technology enables high-throughput protein identification in imaging mass spectrometry, aiding proteomics research. Read More

Non-exercise physical activity has a measurable energy expenditure, which goes down when animals engage in voluntary exercise, Vanderbilt researchers have discovered. Read More

The Vanderbilt Institute of Chemical Biology (VICB) will hold a Founders’ Celebration mini-symposium on March 28 to acknowledge the contributions of its founders, Lawrence Marnett, PhD, and Ned Porter, PhD, and to celebrate 15-plus years of success as a trans-institutional scientific incubator. Read More

MCL-1 is a member of the BCL-2 family of proteins important for blocking apoptosis, or programmed cell death. Many types of cancer cells escape the body’s effort to kill them by overexpressing MCL-1. Read More